Graduate studies committee

G. FUTURE DEVELOPMENT

The main future development will concentrate on the renovation of all research and teaching labs present in the Department. Completion of the renovation of the organic labs is planned (Bunsen burners need to be replaced by heating mantles and upgrade of the electricity lines and transformers). The rehabilitation of the auditorium (room 001) that was initiated five years ago but still needs a considerable budget to be completed.

Re-launching the Ph.D. program is the primary curriculum task that the Department is currently undertaking. The proposal to re-instate the PhD program will hopefully be sent by the University Board of Graduate Studies for external review this coming academic year.

Tarek Ghaddar
Chairperson

CIVILIZATION STUDIES PROGRAM

1. 
   SUMMARY OF PROGRAMS
   

PLO Assessment

The existing Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) are:

To acquire knowledge of human thought and culture in different historical epochs.

To identify main themes and concepts encountered in texts.

To interpret texts with increasing depth within their historical and intellectual context.

To evaluate various genres critically.

To formulate and synthesize creative and informed arguments in line with the standards of intellectual integrity.
In previous cycles, five PLOs were developed, which are now listed on the CVSP website (http://www.aub.edu.lb/fas/cvsp/Pages/about.aspx); attempts were made to test four of the PLOs (2010-2011); the PLOs were revised and PLOs 3 and 4 were assessed (2011-2012); the PLOs were again revised and PLOs 2 and 3 were assessed (2012-2013); PLOs 2 and 3 were again assessed (2013-2014). In 2014-2015 no PLOs were tested either directly or indirectly in the first semester due to the change in oversight and the departure of Bill Merrifield. The time was instead devoted to preparing for the testing of PLO I, reviewing previous results and discussing with faculty and instructors the overall effectiveness of work on the PLOs done to this point. It seemed to be an appropriate time for CVSP to do such a review since it had completed several cycles of testing which had not as yet yielded any actionable results. In the spring of the 2014-15 academic year, PLO I was assessed indirectly using entry and exit surveys. The results were not received back from OIRA until fall 2015-16 and are being included in a PLO end of year report for the first time below. After this, PLO testing within the program was temporarily suspended, because CVSP was selected by Ali Hajj to take part in testing the PLOs for GE humanities across FAS. The results of this testing are summarized below.
Testing of PLO I

PLO I was tested directly in 2014-2015 using entry and exist surveys designed by the instructors of 201-204. As a control, instructors themselves were asked to take the survey. Questions were excluded or marked in cases where instructors disagreed, depending on the degree of disagreement. General findings were that: students do not enter CVSP classes possessing knowledge of the topics surveyed; student progress in learning was substantial with the great majority increasing by 50 to 80 percent. A table is included below summarizing the main data results.

Summary of Relevant Results

We found that there were a several questionable and wholly problematic instances amongst the PLO question set, reflected in a lack of agreement amongst instructors as to which answers were correct. The questionnaires answered by course instructors not infrequently displayed disagreement over the correct answer (at least partially due to ambiguity in the questions themselves). Where instructors don’t overwhelmingly agree on correct answers to a question, there is little basis to extract statistical significance from student responses. This would seem to suggest less uniformity than is called for in an unambiguous set of student survey questions and in what is being taught as well as to recommend that the questions themselves be revisited. On a positive note, as indicated by the positive change between entry and exit results on a majority of questions, it is clear that the materials we are teaching are not known to the students entering all core courses. This holds true with a few exceptions: questions relating to Edward Said and those regarding revelation in the Christian and Muslim traditions. Topics where there was the least progress or negative growth are as follows: Christianity and revelation; Kantian moral theory (#6 where answer 3 was chosen 45% over the correct answer #2); Goethe and reason; Darwin; Said

Table 1: Percentage Correct and Improvement Results from PLO 1

Question	201	201	202	202	203	203	204	204
	%	Change	%	Change	%	Change	%	change
1	86	57	X	X	91	63	29	9.7
2	47	39	56	6	X	X	85	75
3	93	81	68	16	98	60	91	67
4	81	62	45	14	97	74	76	62
5	89	68	59	40	X	X	70X	65X
6	77	56	X	X	36	-1	31	24
7	76	71	50	39	87	73	88	87
8	51	38	77	54	85	52	92	58
9	61	46	77	63	25	20	91	68
10	39X	18X	79	36	8	-2	74X	22X
11	47	41	89	71			37	1
12			80	43
# of questions at or above 80%	3		2		5		5
X= Excluded

GE PLO results were reported as satisfactory by Ali Hajj (statistics available upon request).

Conclusion and Recommendations:

1) Suspension of further PLO’s until completion of the self-study: changes recommended by the SS may lead to a revised set of PLO’s.

2) At the time of commencement of the next PLO testing, a return to the questions presented in the PLOs by the course committee’s is recommended in order to consider existing ambiguities.

3) Since the beginning of testing, all 5 PLOs have been tested. In past, we have noticed that there has been a lack of consideration of the implications of PLO results for courses in particular or the program as a whole. PLO testing in its present form calls for a revision such that its results can inform consideration of program improvement and revision.

One simple reason why PLO testing to this point has not been actionable is that the testing itself has not sufficiently been designed with clear criteria for remedial action dependent upon the results.

However, the main reason we believe that testing of PLO’s has not resulted in actionable plans is that all the PLO’s concern basic humanities skills which cannot be addressed adequately through simple structural changes, e.g. changes to the readings in the courses or the number or kind of courses required. They must rather be effected through changes to pedagogical techniques within courses, but this would require a degree of control over what transpires within courses and such a measure is currently unacceptable to members of CVSP. One option that would accommodate needs on both sides of this question would be to create an introductory, freshman course (e.g. Introduction to Civilization Studies) that, with a reduced number of texts and greater focus on building fundamental and preparatory humanities skills and thought, could directly prepare students in-line with the PLOs so that they can more greatly benefit from the content of 201-204. This is something that our prospective restructuring considerations can take into account in the wake of the CVSP forum and self-study.

Forum

The CVSP Forum coordination in 2015-2016 has been assigned to Dr. Dahlia Gubara (and for the Spring semester Dr. Hussein Abdulsater served with her as a joint convenor).

The Civilization Studies Program (CVSP) organized a Forum/State-of-the-field workshop on 5^th May 2016 in association with the Center for the Arts and Humanities (CAH), and the Anis Makdisi Program in Literature (AMPL). The theme was titled: “Liberal Arts and the Modern University: The Role and Place of the Core Curriculum - AUB, Lebanon and Beyond”.
The Forum/state of the field workshop aimed precipitating a broad discussion and assessment of the role and centrality of a liberal arts core curriculum program committed to general education and the advancement of knowledge in the modern university, and at AUB in particular at the cusp of the institution’s 150^th anniversary.
To that end, the workshop aspired to build upon past and present initiatives and experiences to explore with colleagues from institutions in Lebanon and overseas points of intellectual, conceptual, pedagogical and institutional interest, convergence and divergence. These points could ultimately serve as a platform from which to imagine and implement possibilities and proposals for any future restructuring of the program at AUB, as well as benefitting other institutions that share AUB’s interest in enhancing the role of liberal arts education within the broader academic context.
The Forum/state of the field workshop was structured around three panels and roundtables that grouped participants from Columbia University, the American University in Cairo, the Lebanese American University, the University of Balamand, Notre Dame University, and representatives from the various departments in the humanities, along with colleagues from diverses faculties at AUB. The three panels were the following:
Panel I: “Liberal Arts, General Education and the Modern University,” aims broadly to identify and assess the institutional and pedagogical merits of liberal arts education, and the role of a core curriculum within a program of general education at AUB and elsewhere. Concurrently, it aims to put in conversation various models and experiences and surveys their historical inception and course, present commitments and challenges, as well as their future prospects. The panel was moderated by Professor Nader El-Bizri and contained also a public lecture by Professor Patricia Grieve (Columbia University).
Panel II: “Canon, Civilization, Critical Thought” involves a more focused conceptual and pedagogical discussion on what it is that a core curriculum does and how, by reflecting on the interconnections between the concepts that frame and organize such programs. Namely, the idea of a canon or great books series, its composition and reproduction across time and space, and its role in generating critical thought through an interdisciplinary textual engagement with a set of salient ideas that shape and are shaped by various intellectual contexts. The panel was moderated by Dr. Eric Goodfield and contained also a public lecture by Professor Robert Switzer (American University in Cairo).
Panel III: “Positionalities: CVSP in and from the Region” returns to consider more directly the relationship, past and present, between the University and the City – or more broadly, the Region – in order to contextually situate specific intellectual and pedagogical needs, challenges and aspirations of CVSP and similar programs in the region from the vantage point of place and positionality. The panel was moderated by Mr. Peter Shebaya and also contained a public lecture by Professor Ferial Ghazoul (American University in Cairo).
Brown Bag Talk Series

The following CVSP Brown Bag talks were coordinated by Nadia Bou Ali:

Sami Khatib, “The Messianic without Messianism: Walter Benjamin’s Materialist Theology.”

Bilal Orfali, “The Maqamat of al-Hamadhani: Manuscripts, Collection, and Early History.”

Bana Bashour, What Fundamentalists Can Teach Us About Moral Evaluations, October 21, 3 pm.

Courtney Fugate, “Teleology, Mathematical Beauty and the Discovery of Synthetic Judgments a priori.”

Joshua Norton, “No Time for the Hamiltonian Constraint topic.”
Blended Teaching

Building upon past experiences over the last two years, the blended format was tested again in 2015-2016, with 70% handled in the normal face-to-face (F2F) discussion sessions, and 30% moved onto an online environment. The online portion of the course consists of various forms of student-centered learning activities, including online assignments, forums, glossary, and group wiki entries. These learning activities were designed in a way that they are both rooted in the F2F sessions, and flow back into them; and in the online context the role of the teacher becomes more of a moderator and facilitator, and the learning itself is shifted onto the student engagement with the activities.

Language Courses

As with previous years, CVSP continued its successes in HSK (also named “Chinese TOFEL”), which is a worldwide exam for testing non-Chinese speakers’ proficiency in Chinese language. For the fourth year this standard has been maintained as part of the Chinese language offerings at CVSP under the tutorship of Mr. Chihua Chen.

Ms. Amal Dibo, the coordinator of our French language courses, conducted various discussions and meetings with French cultural and language officers at the Institut Français in connection with the French language courses being offered at CVSP. It has been agreed that our French language courses do not require revisions or revamping.
General

An in memoriam event was held on November 9, 2015 at the Bathish Auditorium to honor the memory of Dr. Mona Amyuni (1933-2015), a longstanding faculty member at AUB for several decades and who passed away in September 2015.

In 2015-2016 CVSP began its self-study review process, which is due to be completed by the end of the Fall 2016 and is served through a committee chaired by Mr. Peter Shebaya, with three other members: Courtney Fugate, Eric Goodfield, and Hani Hassan.
Four new Assistant Professors have been appointed at CVSP: Hussein Abdulsater (research area: Islamic Studies, Theology and Ethics [deferred start date to the Spring 2016]); Nadia Bou Ali (research area: Modern Arab Thought and Nationalism, Nahda literature); Eric Goodfield (research area: Political Philosophy, Hegel); Dahlia Gubara (research area: Wisdom Literature, 18^th century Islamic intellectual history).
In 2015-2016 three new part-time instructors joined our teaching teams, namely, Tony Nasrallah (PhD [ABD] Middle Eastern Studies), Mahmoud Baassiri (PhD [ABD] Philosophy) and Farah Aridi (MA Comparative Literature).
In 2015-2016, the CVSP coordination of activities has been assigned as follows:

1. 
   CVSP 201 and 205, Peter Shebaya; CVSP 202, Hani Hasan; CVSP 203, Hayat Bualuan and Mahmoud Youness; CVSP 204, Syrine Hout.
   
2. 
   PLO Assessment, Courtney Fugate.
   
3. 
   CVSP Forum, Dahlia Gubara; Hussein Abdulsater (Spring semester).
   
4. 
   CVSP Brown Bag, Nadia Bou Ali.
   
5. 
   Social Activities, Hayat Bualuan with Randa Khairallah.
   

2. 
   PERSONNEL
   

1. 
   Faculty Members¹
   
   
   

Bornedal, Peter² Professor Ph.D.

El-Bizri, Nader Professor Ph.D.

Jarrar, Maher Professor Ph.D.

Saumarez Smith, Richard Professor Ph.D.

Harb, Sirene* Professor Ph.D.

Hout, Syrine* Professor Ph.D.

Meloy, John* Professor Ph.D.

Myers, Robert* Professor Ph.D.

Mejcher-Atassi, Sonja* Associate Professor Ph.D.

Nassar, Christopher* Associate Professor Ph.D.

Wrisley, David* Associate Professor Ph.D.

Currell, David* Associate Professor Ph.D.

Abdulsater, Hussein Assistant Professor Ph.D.

Bou Ali, Nadia Assistant Professor Ph.D.

Fugate, Courtney Assistant Professor Ph.D.

Goodfield, Eric Assistant Professor Ph.D.

Gubara, Dahlia Assistant Professor Ph.D.

Newson, Paul* Assistant Professor Ph.D.

Wick, Alexis* Assistant Professor Ph.D.

Amyuni, Mona^†* Senior Lecturer Ph.D.

Shebaya, Peter Senior Lecturer M.A.

Bualuan, Hayat* Lecturer Ph.D.

Maktabi, Hadi* Lecturer Ph.D.

Arasoghli, Aida* Instructor M.A.

Aridi, Farah* Instructor M.A.

Baassiri, Mahmoud* Instructor M.A.

Chen, Chihua Instructor M.A.

Dibo, Amal* Instructor M.A.

Hassan, Hani* Instructor M.A.

Khoury, Samira* Instructor M.A.

Nasrallah, Tony* Instructor M.A.

Sinjab, Nisreen* Instructor M.A.

Tomeh, Edmond* Instructor M.A.

Youness, Mahmoud* Instructor M.A.

2. Graduate Assistants

Fall Semester
Wallace, Cody C.		GA
Spring Semester
Davies, Jack		GA

3. Non Academic Staff

Khairallah, Randa

Secretary